Kieran Earls, one of the top-ranked pitch and putt players in Ireland, claimed his second Scratch Cup victory at Mellows pitch and putt course in Galway, on Sunday.
In front of some two hundred spectators, Earls, who plays out of Bruff, went toe to toe with Erry’s Sean O’Connor in the Mellows Scratch Cup.
Earls went into the last round 17 under par, Sean O’Connor was 19 under par went into the last round, while among the top 12 to qualify from the two-round of 18 holes saw the top 12 were local players Dave O’Connell on -15, Donal Tarpey on -14, Brendan Wynne on -13, with Jimmy Fleming just making the cut on -11, creating a buzz around the course in hopes of a local winner - 13 years since Dave O’Connell had won the cup.
All the locals started well with Donal Tarpey birdieing the first two holes, but he missed a gilt-edged chance on the third to make it three-in-a-row. The leaders started well with birdies, but on the fifth O’Connor took a five which opened the door for Earls, and that was to prove decisive.
On the 14th tee Brendan Wynne was -20, and he pitched to within three feet, but missed the putt which ended his challenge, Jimmy Fleming returned a last round of -3 to make a very respectable total of -14, enough for him to secure his place on Galway’s National Intercounty Team 2023. Dave O’Connell finished with -6, giving him a total of -21, while Donal followed up with -8, giving him a total of -22, a brilliant day for local members of the Mellows club
In the end it came down to Earls v O’Connor. Earls, with a one shot lead, on the eighteenth tee box, pitched to 8ft, while O’Connor stuck it to a foot. Earls, needing to slot his putt for overall victory, succeeded amid great cheers from the assembled gallery.
It was a record for Earls, winning a Scratch cup on Saturday, Sunday, and Monday - a feat never before achieved by a player in Ireland. O’Connor, while disappointed, got his putt on the last to finish on an astounding -27 under for three rounds, only to lose to Earls with a total of -28 under. In the three major competitions he played over the weekend, he did not have one bogey - a huge achievement.
